Unbeaten start is the key for Leicester Tigers boss Richard Cockerill

“Oadbylad, If the increased capacity comes to pass, I sincerely hope that local Schools are given free tickets once again. When I was little, we used to be given season tickets (back in those days I mentioned to DEECEE when tickets cost 50p) and I loved it. My friends and I used to spend more time running around on the mud bank, trying to catch conversions, than watching the game, but it was a great idea and I've gone on to repay those free tickets hundreds of times over.

I like the increased capacity personally, there used to be such a crush on the terrace but it's better these days with fewer arguments between late comers and early birds about primacy of tenure!

As for the play thus far, I think a B+ would be in order, two unconvincing wins resulting in maximum points, and a sub-standard draw V's a top four side. Could do better, could have done worse. Hopefully young Sam will have been working hard on that step among other things. 'Quins will be a tall order but I think the current Tigers side can push them for the win. It may not be pretty right now, but 12 from 15 points isn't terrible.”

“DEECEE, I suggest you revisit your original post, when you do you'll see the following comment "please remember who is paying for this rubbish to be forced upon them" - so yes, you suggest that you were somehow forced to watch.

Your comment regarding being an 'old stager', whatever one of those is, is equally wide of the mark, it was you, not I, who brought up names from the past. I simply countered that I too had been around for a while and that I thought (think) that things have improved in leaps since those you mentioned played the game. I'm not taking anything away from those guys or the history they created, but there's no doubt that the professional era has served to provide a much better standard of play.

I've said nothing to you that I wouldn't have said in the Pub were we to be sharing a pint. I'm not putting you or your comments down as you suggest, i'm disagreeing with you. That doesn't make us mortal enemies, it simply means that we have different opinions. I think I can see where the team went wrong at the weekend and I don't feel that your original post was fair to the team, or your fellow supporters. Tigers are not 'rubbish', they are one of the best club sides in the world, and they're allowed an off day, especially when that off day comes at a time when the two first choice No9's are injured.

A final point, and this isn't sarcasm, you mention BT hiking prices. I seriously doubt that your line rental increase has much, if anything, to do with securing the rights to Rugby coverage. I'd suggest it has more to do with BT trying to compete with SKY and Virgin. They're investing heavily in super-fast-broadband, they're trying to compete in the TV stakes and they're also fighting a losing battle with regards to telephone services as Mobile phones and SKYPE replace traditional landlines. I think it's desperately unfair to blame Tigers for your rising line-rental on the Tigers, or Rugby in general.”

“Out of the 3 games played 2 of the teams will be in the bottom 3 with only Irish to play who in my opinion will be relegated (Skybet 5/2)
It would be nice to see the ball go to hand more and another of the school boy errors over running the ball carrier eliminated
Toby needs to find touch more as a last line of defence he was poor last Saturday
As for Sam ... well beggars cant be choosers ...just hope hes practising picking the pill up and his box kicking
But there's no doubt we will know exactly where we stand after the game and what challenge we face for the rest of the season"
"And as a ps. just read that Welford Road is to be up graded for the Rugby World Cup to 30,000
at what cost to the club ??? :) none me thinks"
But as a club we cant sell out week in week out at 24,000
1. where's the extra capacity going to be ...Holland&Barrett?
2. whos going to be using it....free tickets for all the schools ?”

“Did I say I was " forced " to watch or that I hate it all? My comments related to the appalling rubbish that was played by BOTH sides, with the emphasis on the tigers as the team that I most wanted to watch. I was taught at a very early game that winning is not the be all and end all in life, and, unlike a lot of tigers " fans ", I do watch both sides and applaud their efforts. Yes, it is a commercial game and as such he who pays the piper can expect to call the tune ie if you aint happy with what they dish up you are entitled to complain. Please don't come the old stager, I attended my first game at Welford Road, and The Rec in 1947 and continued, even when living here in Devon and for ten years driving every other weekend from Exeter, until 1999 when I moved back here again. Since then I am forced to watch " my team " on the TV and still claim the right to make comments, like 'em or not!. As I grew up, as did my kids, on first name terms with the " old " players I inherited the ethos of doing it " the Leicester Way " and remember them asking as they left the field " did we do it in style! ". As for BT, you must have money to throw away if it is irrelevant that my line rental, that I pay to my ISP, must go up in order for the tigers to have more in the kitty!. As for the old players such as Les Cusworth, the most under rated fly half ever, he had the individual skills that allowed him that vital second to look and appraise the options before committing the act which Flood does not have, he was too often willing to just offload to a player STANDING by his side and had no idea how to break the boring defensive line which is the feature of the modern game. The best player on saturday was Charlie Hodgson who had time to play it wide or drop he ball over the top and pressurise the fullback. Incidentally, I don't sulk and will not even be offended when you put down my comments again. regards”

“DEECEE2 - i too watched the citys' 2 sporting teams produce absolute garbage displays - the Foxes are just continuing their traditional win-1 / lose-1 form, but made a number of subs that improved things in 2nd half... why flood/harrison were not hauled off around the same time as farrell got removed just shows cockerills coaching deficiencies - Ford on the bench and doesn't get on?!?!? madness, he dominated the semi-final game vs sarries last season...
as for the comments on culture..you are way off the mark, tigers have probably the most replicated culture in the premership with a trophy cabinet the envy of all (and we havn't even won as many as should have!) - the amateur game ended a while back and, like football, TV money will call the shots and force rugby to be played in football stadia (bad idea) - you might not like this 'professional/commercial' approach but no point pining for the good ol days as never returning!
if you had access to training on Monday morning at oval park it would have been very obvious that 'management' were far from chuffed with saturdays performance….tigers do not air their dirty laundry in public (unless England Management are involved!) so any criticism is done behind closed doors…. Exactly how it should be.
Leicesterish – great post, if only we could bring back Kardooni to cover #9 slot!! ”

“I don't understand DEECEE's post if i'm honest. Nobody is "forced" to watch anything, if you hate it all so much, don't bother watching it!

The first point i'd make is that there were two teams playing the game on Saturday. I can understand why some fans see Tigers supporters as arrogant sometimes, do we have some God given right to win every game or are the opposition allowed to win a couple every now and then too? Saracens currently boast the best defence in the game having conceeded one try thus far, Tigers boast the best attack in the game, the two cancelled each other out on the day, why is that such a bitter pill to swallow? It's not as if Tigers ground out a 9pt draw with Worcester is it? Saracens are a top four club, and people are moaning because Tigers didn't beat them, i think a reality check is in order, it might come as a shock to some, but the league is a competition and there are other clubs involved.

Point two (as said elsewhere) look at the play of our 3rd choice No9, it wasn't all his fault but when your scrum half takes a step before releasing the ball, it puts the No10 under pressure (the defensive line moves up as soon as the No9 takes possession of the ball) and when the same guy knocks-on several times, throws ankle high passes and kicks poorly from hand, it all serves to stifle any play the No10 has called. Backs play relies on timing in just the same way as the jumpers and hooker need to be in tune at the lineout, if one of the links in the chain is off key, the whole move breaks down before it's begun.

Whether BT increase prices or not is pretty pointless, the deal has been signed, Tigers will be paid regardless of viewing figures and, if BT's coverage falls short, Sky will simply pick the league back up when it's time to renegotitate. Add that with the fact that BT's coverage will be available via SKY just like ESPN is, and i fail to see the point.

As for the bit about the old boys, I'm not sure what the author wants, is he/she saying that watching Les Cusworth et al was more fun or is the point more about yesterday's men being better than their modern counterparts? If it's the former then i don't agree, i started watching when i was a nipper, the mud bank was where the A&L stand now resides, Dusty was our Full-Back, Les and Dodge were in the middle and the likes of Kardooni, Redfern, Smith and 'Brace faced the likes of Terry Holmes et al as amatuers. Play was scrappy because the guys worked and trained when they could, standards were low because entry to the game cost 50p or £5.50 for a season ticket and attendances hovered around the 5000 mark on a good day - fast forward to the professional era, modern athletes who are bigger, fitter and faster than those who went before them, quality gameplans (that sometimes cancel each other out) crowds of 40,000 to watch a league game (the biggest in the world for a rugby match last weekend) and entertainment for the whole family.

Tigers drew with a very good side - so what? The League wasn't won (or lost) on Saturday, get over it and stop sulking.”

“To help those of us who are "too negative and constantly criticising", please could anybody who gave DEECEE2's comment a negative rating, explain why they did?

I think it's a little unfair on Flood (although as fly half is still the primary play maker, then based on Saturday maybe it isn't), but I agree with everything else”

“Having been, on reflection, daft enough to watch both tigers and the city this weekend I am left feeling that I should be sticking needles in my eyes to cheer myself up. One has to ask Cockerill " what were you watching on your laptop?, the afternoon film? ". If the tigers are now content to send a team(?) on to the field and produce such rubbish, and then claim that they had done well to get two points, then things have come to a sorry pass at Welford Road. You were lucky tigers that Saracens were also as bad as you were and they had a flyhalf as incompetent as Flood!. It's alright "management " feeling chuffed at the thoughts of even more money in the kitty, another pay rise lads?, but please remember who is paying for this rubbish to be forced upon them ( BT announces a rise in Line rental and a further 5.9% rise next year ) and that you are in the entertainment business now. Bring back the real players Les Cusworth, Paul Dodge, Dosser, Woodward, etc etc and restore the culture that was The Tigers.”